“The Work I Do Matters”: Cultivating a STEM Counter-Space for Black Girls (Poster 9)

• In Event: Justice-Centered Pedagogy: Context-Specific Adjustments and Cross-Cutting Constants

Abstract

Central to culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP) is the notion that we sustain what we
love by decentering the white gaze (Paris & Alim, 2017). Elevating CSP and the five core social-emotional learning competencies (CASEL, 2023), we honed in on how Black and Brown girls developed knowledge and skills to manage their emotions, achieve goals, show empathy, and maintain healthy relationships within the context of a single-gender summer STEM program. These opportunities to engage in critical conversations to learn, unlearn, and relearn, while showing up as their full and authentic selves, are not often afforded in traditional STEM classes. This paper focuses on dialogue and interactions amongst four program participants—Samira, Rita, Brandy, and Joy.
Informal and out-of-school-time STEM programs can have positive influences on STEM experiences for Black and Brown girls (Crawford-Ferre & Wiest, 2016; Lane & Id-Deen, 2020; Morton & Smith-Mutegi, 2022; Ong et al., 2018). For girls who tend to have negative experiences with STEM in traditional STEM environments, such as schools, informal STEM learning can help alter their perceptions of what it means to be a girl in STEM (Crawford-Ferre & Wiest, 2016), provide encouragement to pursue and persist in STEM careers (Lane & Id-Deen, 2020; Ong et al., 2018), and help counter the disparities that persist for Black girls in math and science (Morton & Smith-Mutegi, 2022). By focusing on culturally sustaining lessons and fostering social-emotional development, we can empower girls to thrive and excel in STEM education.
This study’s research design sought to answer how the intentional and culturally sustaining SED lessons influenced out-of-school STEM learning spaces for Black and Brown girls. We employed critical discourse analysis (CDA) which was designed to analyze the language use of those in power, how discourse produces and reproduces social domination, and the ways that hegemony is resisted (Wodak & Meyer, 2009).
The two major themes that emerged from this study were (1) the importance of cultivating trusting and intentional learning spaces for Black and Brown girls to engage in open dialogue to critique and challenge oppressive discourses, and (2) the significance of leaning into pluralism and difficult conversations to help adolescent girls realize the complexities of culture while also promoting joy and social-emotional development. The findings revealed the importance of cultivating trusting and intentional learning spaces for Black and Brown girls to engage in open dialogue and critique oppressive discourses; and how adolescent girls can engage in difficult conversations by leaning into pluralism.
This study contributed to the knowledge base on culturally sustaining pedagogy,
STEM education, out-of-school learning, and Black girlhood. We put CSP tenets in conversation with SEL competencies to provide a humanizing and comprehensive lens to decenter the white gaze and create a STEM counterspace where Black and Brown girls could be heard and thrive. Historically, their voices have been silenced in classrooms and their experiences misrepresented in the literature. This work emphasizes the significance of creating spaces that affirm Black and Brown girls matter; their contributions and the work that they do matter.

Authors

• Natalie S. King, Georgia State University

• Laura Peña-Telfer

• Shaeroya J. Earls, Georgia State University